Sifter top



A. B. CRISS June 7, 1949.

SIFI'ER TOP Filed April 25, 1946 Inventor Patented June 7, 1 949 SIETERTOP Ane ia. use, iiiidxi, Miss. Application April 25, 1946,"seria1=No.i6e4',-84 1 1 Claim.

This invention relates to newand useful improvements and structuralrefinements in sifter tops, and the principal object of the invention isto provide a device of therc haracter herein described, such as may beefiectively and conveniently employed in association-with condimentshakers and thev like, ifor-the Ipurpose 'of dispensing the contentsthereof.

The device is, particularly intended for use'with l-salt shakers, toeliminate the previously experienced inconvenience resulting from thesifter openings of the conventional shakers becoming clogged orotherwise obstructed, during moist weather.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sifter top Which maybe readily applied to or removed from the condiment receptacleassociated therewith.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a sifter top whichmay be readily employed with condiment shakers or receptacles havingvarious sizes and forms.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a sifter top whichis simple in construction and operation, and which will readily lenditself to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects in view, and such other objects asmay become apparent as this specification proceeds, the inventionconsists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a, portion of the condimentshaker and showing the invention in situ thereon;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the invention per se;

Figure 3 is an underside plan View of the same;

Figure 4 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view, taken in the plane of the line 5-5in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating an agitator used in theinvention, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified agitator.

Like characters of reference are used to designate like parts in thespecification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the inventionembodies in its construction a. sifter top designated generally by thereference character Ill, the same consisting of a cap I I, configuratedsubstantially as shown and adapted for removable attachment to thecondiment shaker l2.

The caprll may, of rcourse,-be constructed of anysuitablemateriali-andzthergeneral configuratio-n thereof: shouid' :blend,-=II-101'B or *less, with the design-land styling of the condiment.shaker. :If

, the latter fist-provided with a uscrew threaded mouth, the open end oftheecapnl lnniay'be internally threaded 'as at I3;.for obvious-reasons.

I.-he:-cap; l l:, isprovided with ai-substantially fiat surface 14,;thisi in turn;:;being :formed 1 with .:a

m iplurallit uof spacedparailel slotsn l5'. Thesefslots,

in effect, constitute the sifter opening, the action thereof beinghereinafter more fully set forth.

The agitator designated generally by the reference character I6comprises a plate ll, this being angulated at the relatively oppositeedges thereof to form a pair of outer ribs l8. A plurality of prongs 19,which for purposes of consistency will be hereinafter referred to as theinner ribs, are provided also on the plate ll, intermediately of theouter ribs l8.

The plate I! is slidably positioned on the outer surface of the capportion M, with the ribs l8 and i9 extending through the respectiveslots 15. The outer ribs I3 are, in turn, provided with the inturnedflanges 20, these being disposed adjacent the inner surface 2| of thecap portion 14 and effectively functioning to retain the agitator It asa whole, in position on the cap H.

The outer surface of the plate I! is provided with an upraised portion22, this in turn, bein formed with a concave recess 23. It will be notedthat this recess will function as a convenient finger catch, for slidingthe agitator t6.

When the invention is placed in use, the sifter top H) is, of course,applied to the condiment shaker l2, whereupon the agitator It may beslid to and fro in the slot l5, as indicated by the phantom lines 24 inFigure 4. It will be apparent that in this manner, the contents of theshaker will be prevented from clogging of otherwise obstructing thesifter openings.

Referring now to the accompanying Figure 7, the agitator designatedgenerally by the reference character 25 may be employed in substitutionfor the agitator It. The agitator 25 is formed from one piece ofmaterial such as a metal stamping, and consists of a substantiallyrectangular sheet or plate 26, this being slotted to provide a pair ofspaced, longitudinally aligned ribs '21 at each of two relativelyopposed edges of said plate.

The mid-portion 28 of the plate 26 between each aligned pair of the ribs21 are arcuated and overlapped one over the other, to constitute afinger catch 29. The portions of the remaining edges of the plate 26 arenotched and angulated to provide 3 further prongs or ribs 30,intermediately f the ribs 21. It should be understood that the agitatoras shown in Figure 7 is partially broken away to reveal itsconstruction, and actually, the rib 21 which is shown broken away,should extend as illustrated by the phantom line 3|.

The agitator 25 is used in the same manner as the aforementionedagitator I 6, that is, with the plate 26 being slidably positioned onthe sitter cap, and the ribs 2'! and 30 extending through the sifteropenings. It will be noted that the outer ribs 21 are angulated toprovide the inturned retaining flanges 32, the function of which issimilar to that of the flanges 20.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will beclearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly,further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

A sifter top comprising a cap having a flat upper Wall and sloping sidewalls leading to the upper wall, said upper wall having a plurality of30 2,216,345

spaced parallel slots, and an agitator comprising a plate formed fromone rectangular sheet of material, said plate being slotted to provide apair of spaced longitudinally aligned ribs at each of two relativelyopposed edges of said plate, the mid-portions of said plate between saidribs being arcuated and overlapped one over the other to constitute afinger grip, portions of the remaining edges of said plate being notchedand angulated to provide further ribs intermediately of said firstmentioned ribs, said plate being slidably positioned on the outersurface of the up- .per wall, said ribs extending through said slots,and said first mentioned ribs being angulated and forming inturnedretaining flanges frictionally engaging the inner surface of the upperwall.

' ALLEN B. CRISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 287,080 Anderson Oct. 23, 1883552,462 Beiser Dec. 31, 1895 903,399 Nixon et a1. Nov. 10, 1908 905,261Williamson Dec. 1, 1908 1,602,541 Macris Oct. 12, 1926 Haskin et a1.Oct. 1, 1940

